I’ve been meaning to add a buttercream recipe to my blog for ages and just haven’t quite gotten around to it. I think part of my reluctance to post was that I’m not the best at piping and so had no idea how to present it to show off it’s yummy deliciousness.However, a couple of day’s ago I came across this 3-second buttercream rose tutorial by Toni at Gym Bunny Mummy. She made it look so simple that I couldn’t resist whipping up some vanilla cupcakes and a batch of buttercream to give it a try.
I was pretty pleased with the results *smug grin* so I decided buttercream finally deserved a place on my blog.
I’ve shown it here as cupcake frosting, but it’s extremely versatile and can be used for all sorts of cakes and desserts – cupcakes, sandwich/layer cakes, macarons and, my favourite, as a delicious buttercream layer beneath the fondant icing on the decorated celebration cakes I make for my family. If you’re making my all-in-one vanilla sponge birthday cake, then this is the recipe I use for the buttercream.
What’s the secret to perfect buttercream?
Buttercream is extremely simple to make. However, to ensure that you can create beautiful cakes with it you need to make sure it’s the right consistency.
At this point I want you to imagine you’re making a sandwich. I’m sure that, like me, you’ve experienced those times when you’ve taken the butter out of the fridge and attempted to spread it onto your sandwich only to find that you end up ripping the bread to shreds instead – butter still in one lump, bread with a great big hole in the middle. Now imagine how soft your butter needs to be to ensure that doesn’t happen. That’s the consistency you want your buttercream – just spreadable, but not runny.
So how do you get your buttercream to the right consistency?
It’s important to ensure that your butter is soft in the first place – just spreadable (like you would use for that successful sandwich). The best idea is to leave it out of the fridge for a little while to soften. However, I find that if I forget, I can cut it into cubes and beat it on a high speed in my Kitchenaid and it softens pretty quickly (this only works because I have a powerful stand mixer. I used to try it with my hand mixer but I found my arm going round and round with the beaters stuck in the lump of butter instead of the butter softening as I wanted).
Unfortunately you start with the butter at just the right consistency and then add a load of icing sugar causing it to thicken up. So you need to soften it a little again.
This is where the milk comes in. Gradually beat in the milk a few drops at a time and check the consistency before adding more. For icing using 250g butter and 500g icing sugar I find about a tablespoon of milk is the right amount, but I add it at no more than ½ teaspoon at a time as other factors such as the temperature of your kitchen can also impact how soft the buttercream gets and it’s easy to add more but impossible to take it out.
How to stop everything getting covered in sugar when you make icing?
I’ve no idea. Whenever I make anything with icing sugar everything gets covered. If anyone has any suggestions on preventing this please, please let me know!
What You’ll Need
Before you start, make sure you have all of the equipment needed.
NOTE – These are affiliate links which means that if you purchase from Amazon after clicking on one the product links below I may earn a small commission. All of the products linked are ones I use in my kitchen.
Weighing Scales
- Measuring Spoons
- Knife – to cut the butter
- Electric Mixer (or a bowl and hand mixer or wooden spoon)
- Sieve
- Piping Bags – if you’re planning on piping the cupcakes
- Piping Nozzle – To pipe the cupcakes as shown in the video you’ll need a JEM 1B nozzle. To pipe the cupcakes as shown in the pictures you’ll need a Wilton 2D nozzle.
Easy Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 500 g icing sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Approx. 1 tbsp milk I use skimmed but any is fine
Instructions
- Cut the butter (250g) into cubes (about 1″) and beat in an electic mixer until soft.
- Add the icing sugar (500g) and beat until fully combined – I prefer to add the sugar a couple of spoonfuls at a time as this minimises the amount of sugar that flies out all over the kitchen! You’ll find that at first it’ll start to look lumpy but keep persevering and it’ll smooth out.
- Add the vanilla extract (½ tsp) and mix until fully combined.
- (See note about about the required consistency) Take a look at the consistency of the icing, is it spreadable? If not add ½ tsp milk and mix until fully combined. Check the consistency again and repeat until it is just spreadable.
- Once you’ve got the icing to the right consistency – have fun piping, spreading, or just licking if off the spoon!
Notes
This recipe makes enough for 12 buttercream cupcake roses or for a thin covering over a 20cm round sandwich cake with a layer in the middle (as I do for celebration cakes). You can find the recipe for my vanilla cupcakes here. You may find you’ve got a bit leftover from your cupcakes but attempting a neat rose with an almost empty piping bag isn’t easy so I’d prefer to make a little too much. You can easily make as much or as little icing as you like depending on what you’re trying to cover.Nutritional Information
Fancy trying a different flavour of buttercream on your cakes?
Then take a look at my new recipe for delicious NUTELLA BUTTERCREAM
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Gluten-Free
- Egg-Free
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
If you’re looking for a dairy-free buttercream recipe then try my Vegan Vanilla Buttercream.
The ingredients for this recipe are commonly available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Hi. Im going to try this buttercream tomorrow. Looks great. Can you advise what i need to make an orange flavoured buttercream?
Switch the vanilla extract for orange extract.
Thank you for replying. I will do that.
I wrap cling film round the mixer to stop flour/icing sugar coating my kitchen
Hay your icing sugar problem i put a slightly damp tea towel over my stand mixer it stops it going everywhere
Thanks for this recipe it tasted amazing
Hi, have you ever tried this with dairy free spread? My daughter is lactose intolerant, and her sunflower spread is fine for baking, and wondered if you had any experience of using something like that for buttercream. Thanks!
I have a dairy-free version of this buttercream https://charlotteslivelykitchen.com/vegan-vanilla-buttercream/
Thank you so much! I hadn’t seen that page.
I’ll add a link into the main buttercream recipe to make it easy for everyone to find.
I made this buttercream yesterday after a disaster with my previous recipe and it was amazing! It actually made enough to fill a 4 tier small cake and spread round the sides for my crumb coat! Also delicious! I am wanting to make some more for cupcakes and I was just wondering if anyone knew whether it crusts?
You should find it has a light crust.
Hiya I been looking for a buttercream recipe for ages everytyme I try buttercream it does turn out right, I came across your recipe and it looks perfect I will try this, however what company butter did you use for it Please reply will be much appreciated
I usually use Tesco unsalted butter but I’ve used others with pretty much identical results.